Epilogue

I settled on the comfortable lounge chair on the balcony of our hotel room. The sun was just about to breach the horizon and the sky was taking on a golden hue. Points of light flashed on the ocean as the sun rose higher.

The sliding door of the balcony opened and closed, and a moment later, Miguel snuggled in beside me. He covered us both with the blanket he'd taken off the bed. "You're up at stupid o'clock again," he said, his voice still husky with sleep.

I put my arm around him and drew him close. "I couldn't sleep."

He huffed a laugh and kissed my cheek. "Cody's fine. He's with Nico. He's safe."

I sighed. "I know. It's just weird to not have him nearby. It's been a rough year for him."

"For all of us," Miguel agreed.

And it really had been. Grief had a strange way of hijacking you when you least expected it. Then you found yourself curled up in the corner, bawling your eyes out. Cody had his good days and his very, very bad days. His therapist told us to expect regression, and she wasn't wrong. Sometimes, he reverted to baby talk. Other times, he wet the bed. His tantrums in those early days had been epic as he began to absorb the knowledge that Allie truly wasn't coming back.

The behavior eased up a bit when Nico was released. It helped that Nico had done a lot of reading about children's grief before he left prison. He knew what he was getting into. It was one of the reasons I felt—mostly—comfortable leaving Cody with him for a weekend.

It really had been nice to be able to pound Miguel into the mattress without worrying that we'd wake Cody. Miguel had equally enjoyed doing the same to me after dinner last night, knowing there would be no little fists knocking on our door demanding to be let in.

I let out a long breath. "I know Cody will want to spend more time with Nico. He's his dad. Every kid wants their dad and mom around. Since he can't have his mom, he'll at least have his dad."

"All the same," Miguel began, "Cody loves you. You were the only father figure he had for the first four years of his life. I'm guessing this will melt into some kind of blended family where we all want the best for Cody."

"Probably." I rolled to my side to face him. "It's been really nice spending time alone with you."

"Yeah?" He kissed me sweetly. "I feel the same." He moved back a little and seemed to be looking for something under the blanket. He pulled his hand out, producing a small square box.

I sat up, staring at him. Tears welled in my eyes. "Miguel?"

He laughed through his own tears. "I had this whole fancy speech ready, but then here you were looking so wonderful and beautiful, and I wondered why I needed to wait for some expensive dinner or grand gesture. This is us. Just as we are. I love you, Zach, and I want you to wear my ring so everyone else knows it."

He opened the box to reveal two rings. One was a hammered titanium band. The other was a black silicone band. He pointed at the black band. "That's so you can wear it at work and not worry about getting electrocuted." He fluttered his eyelashes. "So, will you marry me?"

I took the box and carefully set it aside. Then I pulled him to me and rolled so he was on top of me. "Of course I'll marry you. God, I love you so much."

We held each other close as the sun rose over the Atlantic, heralding a new day and a new beginning.